Page:Maud Howe - A Newport Aquarelle.djvu/50

 eyes as well as her lips in that brief instant when her face was so near to his, and though she gave her hand to Larkington at parting, and only nodded him a good-night, Cid rode away with his heart beating fast, his whole being quickened by the influence of that tired sigh, that deep smile. Farwell felt so much at peace with the world in general, and in especial with the man who had not lifted Gladys from her horse, that in a moment of expansiveness he asked Larkington to dine with him at the restaurant of the Casino.

The invitation was accepted, and the two men passed the evening together, playing a game of billiards after dinner.

Farwell was rightly counted by the men of his club as an excellent player, but he found that in Larkington he had met more than his match. Though Larkington had taken twice as much wine as he had at dinner, his strokes seemed as steady as those of a professional billiard-player.